


A Perfect Day in Pensacola

by angeldescendant



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BananaValentine2019, Day At The Beach, Everyone Is Alive, Garden of light does not exist lmao, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 07:18:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17803511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angeldescendant/pseuds/angeldescendant
Summary: “Ei-chan,” Max attempted to mimic Ibe. “Can’t thank you enough for pushing Ash to dream about being happy.”Sometimes, Max dreams about another present where his eldest son's not there. He isn't the only one.





	A Perfect Day in Pensacola

**Author's Note:**

> for [ocdkaneki](https://twitter.com/ocdkaneki)
> 
> This is but part 1 of my Valentine's present! Thank you for waiting!
> 
> You wanted a GoL alternate ending so here we are ^^
> 
> Here, Ash is Max's adopted son, Eiji meets Ash years earlier, and Banana Fish is but a random footnote from a war more than a decade ago.

Ash had been assigned on grill duty after an intense game of rock-paper-scissors with Max, Eiji, and Ibe. The latter pitied him enough to assist, leaving Eiji and Max staring at the blue ocean while Jess and Michael swam along with Shorter.

 

“I really thought we’d go to Cape Cod this time, Max-san.”

 

“Drop the honorifics. Want me to repeat that for you?” As usual, he was still uneasy with his overt politeness. He hadn’t changed at all in the last five years. “Dunno if we could all go there together though. Ash might invite you to go with him when he’s ready.”

 

One of Max’s dreams included a crossfire and Ash’s real dad and live-in partner being dead there somewhere. He blamed the war trauma again.

 

“Oh,” Eiji picked it up rather quickly. Must’ve known that was the place where Max picked him up the first time. “I always wanted to go there. Y’know, the first place Ash toured me in was the public library.” He laughed at this. “Probably thought I was a bibliophile since I dressed like one.”

 

“That’s Ash’s favourite place, actually,” Max smiled. “Must be homelier to him than the actual thing.”

 

“Dunno about that,” Eiji said. “I think he just likes books in general. And the peace and quiet. Away from the city, in the middle of the city, uh… if I make any sense.”

 

Max ruffled his hair. He knew why Ash had a soft spot for this kid. Straight as an arrow, yet vulnerable all the same.

 

“Ash is a total genius though, even when he’s annoying most of the time,” Eiji said. “Accelerated a year, top marks even at physical ed… He told me he wanted to become a detective in the NYPD. Then become the FBI chairman. Have no doubt he’ll make it.”

 

Max scratched the back of his head. “He hasn’t told us any of his plans.”

 

Eiji turned red. “Sorry, you know the sort of guy he is-“

 

“At least he’s telling you. And we're rest assured that idiot has hopes and dreams…”

 

“I envy him sometimes, to be honest,” Eiji said, burying his hands to the pockets of his bomber jacket. “I’m not really sure what I want to do with my life. He’s two years my junior and he already has a solid plan. He wants to be in the FBI to know about the state’s secrets. He reckoned that they may be secretly assisting in the creation of drugs for brainwashing.”

 

At the mention of this, Max roared with laughter. “No shit, that kid is already thinking that much further ahead?” He then patted Eiji’s shoulder as casually as he could. The chills were still running down his spine. “Unfortunately, someone already beat him to it.”

 

“Knew it! You did it, right Max-san?”

“Again with the honorifics! It’s a story for another time. Make sure not to break up with Ash until I spill all the details,” he said, rolling with laughter again. “And don’t think about the future too much. There are too many possibilities in the mix, lots of paths to choose from. Your head will just spin conjuring up scenarios.”

 

“Eh, but there's much stuff that can go wrong then if that’s true!”

 

“True,” Max grinned. “But if you let that shit devour you, you’ll end up like me: A washed-up journalist with no stable income.”

 

“You deprecate yourself too much! You get featured in a lot of magazines and newsletters!”

 

He looked on at the ocean. Despite the shit he spouted, there were no regrets there whatsoever. He imagined this day and an Ash decked in blood and grime and bitterness. He preferred this present. “Ei-chan,” Max attempted to mimic Ibe. “Can’t thank you enough for pushing Ash to dream about being happy.”

 

“Ehehe, now you’re exaggerating too much, Max-san.”

 

“What did I tell you with the -san?”

 

“Sorry, respect my upbringing please,” Eiji’s cheeks flamed again. Max laughed at this and took out a cigarette and had a difficult time lighting it because of the wind. “Can I tell you something weird?”

 

“Shoot.”

 

With this, Eiji’s voice became quieter. “It’s pretty dark, but I dream of Ash sometimes. Y’know how dreams are supposed to be forgotten when you get up? It didn’t happen the first time when I dreamt it, to be honest. It feels so real, like a memory, y’know. It always makes me cry when I wake up. I was in the New York Public Library and Ash is sleeping near the window.”

 

Max felt the hairs on his arms standing up even under his herringbone jacket.

 

“He’s sleeping, but I saw the blood leaking out, y’know? A stab wound, I guess…” he trailed off. He looked like he does now. And he’s smiling.” Eiji then shook his head. “And we weren’t there with him as he continued sleeping. It was horrifying. It was not because he was dying but because he was smiling. He was smiling as he died alone. Reminded me of my pet cat back home, which went to the topmost cupboard and never woke up.” He suppressed a sniff. “Why was he happy? I kept asking that whenever I open my eyes. It made no sense to me.”

 

“Have you told him?”

 

Eiji shook his head. “I probably won’t. He’ll wheel me off to the nearest asylum or something. It made me think really hard, I guess. About happiness. I don’t think I subscribe to that idea anymore when I started having the same dream in the past two years.”

 

Max swallowed. Knowing he wasn’t the only one having those kinds of dreams raised more questions than offer even a trace of solace. “So what do you believe in then, Ei-chan?”

 

He shrugged. “That we can’t be perfectly happy if we choose to live. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

“You can wax it poetic, but living’s tough,” Max said. “To be honest, us grownups are just winging it.”

 

Eiji laughed. “Can’t wait. Maybe I’ll grow a few more inches in two years so he won’t give me happy meals on my birthday.”

 

He liked the twang to his laugh. By then, Ash and Ibe were hollering whether they wanted burnt snappers or not. “Then good luck,” he said, before turning onto the ocean. “And save me a stick. I’ll be there in a minute.” They’ll be fine. He had to believe in them. He will believe in them.

 

Eiji went on ahead.

 

**FIN**

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated ^^


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